Episode 1: The Shift Must Go On
by APFiction17
Summary: Episode 1 of SMGO. When Mike Schmidt discovers he has to work another three weeks to be able to get out of his contract, he realises that there are only two ways this seemingly endless cycle will end. Preparing himself for the inevitable, that week would either end with him being fired for property damage or being stuffed in an animatronic suit. (T for Violence and Foul Language)
1. A Phone Call

**Heya, guys and gals and welcome to my first Five Nights at Freddy's Fanfiction! Now, before I get down to business, I want to clarify these things:**

**First, this story is set after the first game. It'll show the after-effects of Mike's horrible career choice. Do note that many facts that we know already about the series (Such as the identity of the "Purple Guy" from the books) might be forsaken for plot reasons; this is one of many different universes.**

**Second, the genders (Or rather the way the AI of the characters interprets their genders) will be the universally confirmed genders of each character. Bonnie and Foxy, or at least the versions of the first game, are considered by most to be male.**

**Anyway, off we go!**

**(This is a note from the future. If you are reading this, then you are either A. Someone who has read this story previously and are re-reading it due to the changes I have put in it or B. You are a new reader. While the plot will not change, many paragraphs will have been added, deleted or edited.) **

It was two AM on a Monday when the phone rang. Due to the owner's length of time being up this late, he was still writing something on some stationery when the call took place. His new job was time-consuming and required him to stay up late to complete the amount of paper work required; he spent his entire supply of work hours checking through the stock within the warehouse he now worked at, by the time his working hours were done he wouldn't have the time to write the report that needed to be handed in every 10 AM. The man sighed as he left the desk, his legs aching from the amount of walking he had to do and headed upstairs to answer. At least it was better than his old job...

It had been five months since he had made the worst decision of his life: When he took the seemingly easy job at the innocent pizzeria. It looked good on paper; a minimum wage job for just sitting there in a room, checking the security cameras from time-to-time and simply staying awake for six hours. If he wanted to, he could even bring something in from home to pass the time. How was he supposed to know that inside those chipped doors at night was the closest example of Hell on Earth?

Mike Schmidt had changed that week; for every minute he had spent there he had lost a small part of himself. So, the fact that he had been practically forced to work there for a total of forty-eight hours with a combined count of 2880 minutes (He had done the math) he was still wondering if he was still sane. Sometimes he would dream of that place, seeing those mechanical monsters silently stomping throughout the building, watching them look at the cameras as if they could see him through them, switching the door light on to see one inches away from him...

Yet every time they were in that room with him, seconds away from grabbing him so that they could start the process of putting him into one of those dreaded suits in the back, he would always wake up drenched in his own sweat.

Mike picked up the phone and answered it. Hopefully it was just salesmen trying to sell another crappy product to him; there hadn't been any other incident after he quit, except for the night after he had handed in his resignation. The call had been sent from the restaurant's assistance phone; he had remembered the number in the office. It was a number that would only be called in the case of emergency if the lead Night Guard (A position which had long been vacant) was not able to give the staff the brief for that working day and either called them or posted a recorded message.

"Hello?" Mike spoke tiredly. Hopefully it wouldn't be another demonic war chant that sounded like it was mixed with dubstep…

Nope, it was even worse.

"Mr. Schmidt." Charles Garfield, the current CEO of Fazbear Entertainment and Mike's old boss, spoke with a voice that had a powerful and unmerciful version of authority and a mix between snobbish and venomous; Overall, not a very likable person. "How pleasant to speak with you again."

Not likely. The last time they spoke Mike hadn't exactly held back; this man had not only lied about the murderous robots on his first night, but also very much knew about them and their "antics", as he called them, threatened to call his 'friends' at the Police Department to have him arrested if he didn't come back for the rest of the week and had the audacity to joke about the many Night Guards who were killed before him. However, since there was a likelihood that Garfield was calling him to talk about his past employment at Freddy Fazbear's, Mike decided he was already on thin ice.

"Same here. Why exactly are you calling me?" The question was too much for Mike's calmness and came out aggressive, but he couldn't help it. "My contract ended months ago."

"That's why I'm calling you. As you may know, the government opened a new system called the 'WECC' that is mainly focused on increasing the use of jobs around the state. "

Mike had heard of this. Just a week ago, he was watching the news when the system was announced: WECC, or the WORKER-EMPLOYER CONTRACT CONTROL, gave the employer even more control over their worker's contract and allowed them to make any changes they want. According to the government, it was there to 'decrease the number of workers leaving work and to increase the amount of money earned by workers'. According to the community, it was bullshit to slightly increase the time a workers shift would last for a few extra dollars. It wouldn't stop Employers from simply making an employee redundant, but would mean that an employee would have to work a set amount of time before they could request to resign.

"Where does that lead to you calling me on the phone?" Mike asked impatiently. All that he could guess was that Garfield was calling him in an attempt to get him to resume his contract and spend more time working as the Night Guard. He had tried persuading, bribing and then threatening Mike to resume his work as the Night Guard in the first few days after he quit; it looked like Garfield was trying Persuasion again.

"Well, deep in this system is a particular point that you may find... interesting." Garfield dragged the word longer than it should be. It had the type of smug that would be present when someone had spent so long trying to catch something but without any luck; then finally, fate caused that thing to be cornered.

"You see, this system not only aims to greatly save a company a large amount of money by making advertisements for open positions less needed in most cases, it also allows the worker to have more time to choose whether they want to accept a long-term contract by extending the length of a trial one. Normally this contract is, say, a week. Now, this contract is extended to a month; a fair amount of time."

Mike stayed quiet but his mind was racing. What did this mean? Garfield knew that the system only worked for contracts that were either still in effect or had ended within a maximum of a month's time; his contract had ended five times that amount.

He smiled meekly. "Thank you, Mr. Garfield, but I'm-"

"Let me finish, Schmidt." Garfield's aggression made Mike step back, despite being several miles away from the actual man. "Now, while it IS true that this system only effects contracts that have expired for less than a month, an Employer- like me- is able to request an appeal to the Council to see if a compromise can be made. For example, if an employee just so happens to not retrieve their Overtime pay, whether optional or not, it means that they are 'able to retrieve their additional pay at the end of the week.'" Mike could hear the smirk in his voice. "Now if I remember, you left before you could retrieve your earnings on the morning of the Sunday that you resigned; you know, after you verbally assaulted me."

Mike swallowed involuntarily, as memories flooded back to him. It was true that he had left before he could collect his Overtime pay from Garfield; he had just gone through hell and back that night. The animatronics from the start were far more aggressive than they were before, being at his door from the first few minutes. His power had run out just a few minutes away from the end of his shift. Something saved him, however; after Freddy had dragged him into the Backstage room, a suit was being opened when the robots were distracted by ...something. That distraction, whatever it was, fooled them long enough for the shift to end just before Mike's body touched the suit. That Near-Death experience made Mike act the way he had when he resigned; now it looked like it was here to bite him on the ass.

"What are you saying, Mr. Garfield?" He tried to sound unafraid, but his voice failed him.

"It means I will see you tonight, Mr. Schmidt." The man said emotionlessly, "Goodbye." Then he hung up.

Now Mike was sitting on his bed with his hands on the back of his head, cursing every person who made up this system and his boss; just like that, an event he was trying to put behind him was thrown back in his face before he could even see it. At first, he had hoped his new contract was a way out of this, but after calling up his now-old boss, Mike discovered that his contract there had been removed by the request of one Mr. Garfield.

His shift was not over. He now had to survive three more weeks at Freddy's.

**So, what do you think? Clever? Cunning? Completely stupid? Please post what you think in the reviews! (You know, if you want.)**


	2. Return to Freddy's

If Mike had been told that he would be sitting in his office at the old pizzeria ready to face death itself and do three more weeks as the Night Guard five months back, he would have punched that person in the face and had him committed; but due to the events that had transpired that morning, he was once again in the one place he never wanted to be again. It was difficult for him to leave his apartment willingly, knowing where his location was. Many thoughts popped up in his mind, including fantasies of leaving this city and never coming back; this idea was straight away knocked down by the knowledge that if he DID attempt to flee from this inevitability, he would be marked down for 'Breach of Contract' and would likely be hunted down until found; then he would end up in jail for the next few years where he would end up jobless after being released, (Unless he ended up dying in prison) homeless and would probably end his days by starving. Likely, being stuffed in an animatronic suit would take no more dignity away and would likely be quicker.

He hoped.

As he approached the door, his watch had just gone over 11:40. Having only twenty minutes until his shift started, he found himself looking back at the road leading away from the Pizzeria; it certainly wasn't too late. Maybe he could find the money to hire a private detective, see if he could find the evidence to show the council of the horror going on within Freddy Fazbear's. He was greeted by the feeling that his stomach was about to burst when the front doors opened too quickly for Mike's tastes. Spinning around, Mike came face-to-face with the CEO himself, Charles Garfield.

From what Mike had discovered himself through his brief talks with the other employees of the Pizzeria and research on any source available to him that wouldn't get him in more trouble, Garfield didn't have even a spot on his public image: Rich but charitable, stylish but humble, humorous but intelligent. Just by those, you would come to the conclusion that he was the perfect business man. In a way, he was.

Only three of those things were true: He certainly was rich from all of the businesses he owned and considering that he had numerous shady operations throughout the city of Los Angeles and beyond yet none of them had ever been suspected, his intelligence was something that was certain. As for his style, he had many fine-trim three-piece suits that made him stick out like a sore thumb when it came to running Freddy Fazbear's.

As for the rest of the points, his 'Charity' was just a front for his many transactions with all kinds of Business men, Government Officials and even criminals which kept him protected; apparently his main criminal branch was being run by a well-supplied Mexican-American gang called the "Fuego verde", which translated to "Green Fire", until they themselves were ended IN a fire when their base of operations was attacked a month before he had joined the first time; only a few of them made it out and were hunting for the people responsible. Humble was the complete opposite of Garfield's actual personality. He was as humble as an ulcerated tooth; his humour was about as welcoming.

After considering these, Mike decided that if anyone was running a business that payed a minimum wage to all of its workers whilst not telling them about the danger of the job before they signed up and not allowing them to quit after finding out, Charles Garfield would be the person behind the business. He had inherited it off of his father (Who was the CEO from the Pizzeria's revival in early 1987 up to 1995, where he met his abrupt end in an alleyway on the ill-considered walk home at the sharp point of a knife.) who himself had bought the rights from the owner of the original restaurant owner's daughter. Unlike his father, Garfield was not risking the public animosity towards the infamous name of Freddy Fazbear or the risk of the animatronics attacking someone in daylight whilst still earning a large amount of money from the many investments he was getting from owning the rights and all the while appearing to be a hero and a saint to the public eye; a real wolf in sheep's clothing.

Likely to attempt to aggravate Mike further, Garfield pretended to be courteous when he welcomed Mike back into the business. From the phone call last night, it was obvious that Garfield had picked up on Mike's hostility.

"Mr. Schmitt." He spoke with that same smug voice that accompanied him wherever he went as he shook Mike's hand. "So glad you could join us back at Freddy Fazbear's. Night Shift clothing is in the office ready for you; you should consider getting ready for the night. You have a long week ahead of you." Laughing as he walked away, he called without looking back: "So glad this didn't end in a court case!"

_No_, Mike thought as he struggled to contain his distain for the man as he slowly walked away, _it'll end with me dead inside of an oversized animal costume._

Turning around, Mike pushed the door open and meekly entered. The pizzeria was almost exactly like he remembered it. The tables were all set up neatly with five chairs underneath both sides on each table. The chairs were made from a dark plastic that were all stylish with a star on each chair; every table had a large piece of cloth draped across it with five party hats aligned all in a certain colour order depending on the adjacent table.

Of course, the first thing you would notice when you walked into the Pizzeria was the stage that filled half of the room as well as the seven-foot robotic monstrosities that had caused Mike so much physical and mental pain through just one week of him working here; they were all arranged the way they always would be: with Bonnie standing to the right side holding his guitar as if he was going to play it, Chica on the opposite side holding the cupcake she always carried around with her and Freddy himself, standing just in front of the other two with his microphone at the ready.

As he stared at them for what seemed like the longest time, his fear of the four mechanical terrors that he had gained since he first joined Freddy Fazbear's was replaced by something else. Anger and hatred, most likely. Quickly glancing back at Pirate's Cove, an idea to vent his frustration for his 'co-workers' formed inside of his head. He checked his watch. 11:45pm; Plenty of time for him to tell the things of hell what he thought about them.

Walking up the stairs, he started talking moderately loud; not loud enough to be counted as shouting or yelling, but loud enough for anyone in the room to hear him nice and clearly, which was exactly what he wanted. Standing in front of Freddy with his side to him so that he could see if either the three on the stage or the one hidden within the curtains of Pirate's Cove so much as stirred. Arms crossed with a smirk on his face, Mike began his venting.

"Hello again, you oversized shit cans." That would definitely catch their attention; foul language always did. He had absently experimented with them on his fourth night- well, if you could call it experimented- when he grew angry after hearing the Head Night Guard seemingly die at the hands of the animatronics. He swore numerous times at them, both in fear and anger, whenever they turned up outside of his office; when he did, they would get far more aggressive within the minutes after he uttered a not-for-tv word. "Remember me?"

If they WERE still conscious during the day time, Mike wouldn't be surprised if they did recognize him. "I would just like to tell you, before our little 'session' together, how much I despise every single one of you. Honestly, within our time together I can say- without a doubt, that I have not seen an inch of anything slightly positive you have brought into this world." He turned towards the curtains at the back and said a bit louder: "Same goes for you, you red fuck!"

He smirked at his rebellious actions; if he was lucky this would get him fired. If not, he was probably going to die by the end of the month. If that was his fate, then he wanted the animatronics to feel the heat of the situation; after what they'd put him through, the least they could do was suffer for it.

His head turned to look at the chicken animatronic. "First of all: Chica. Honestly, I am glad that you don't have the functions to actually cook, because if you did, killer robots would be the least of my worries; food poisoning and the building burning down would likely take top place." He shrugged. "Who knows, though? Maybe I won't have to work here anymore if that DID happen."

Next, he looked at the head honcho himself, Freddy Fazbear. "Freddy, you fat ol' fuck! I have to ask, is it your weight that kept you here until my fourth night or just simple laziness? Tell me: Why did they design you like that? If any of you were responsible for the bite of '87, I would certainly suspect you first. Got hungry?"

Now for Bonnie. The first animatronic that started to curse him in the first place. Mike had a special case of hatred towards THIS one. "Bonnie, the first thing I noticed about you was how damn ugly you look! I mean, by god!" He chuckled a bit, "I mean, I bet you frighten the children more than Foxy and THAT'S saying something!"

Finished, Mike walked down the stairs and started heading towards the office. In spite of his fears towards the four, he was ready for them. Maybe this would enrage them further and they would kill Mike slowly if they caught him, but he didn't care.

Not stopping at Pirate's Cove, he added: "Oh, Foxy? Please break a leg or two. Maybe your jaw, also. It'll be better for everyone, you especially."

* * *

**11:55**

**5 Minutes until night shift.**

Normally at this point of every night, the four would 'wake up' as it were. Acting as a start-up mode, they could talk and move around but not leave the stage or in Foxy's case, the cove. This meant that they could communicate with each other without the restrictions they had during the day.

This was the time they could plan out tactics and come to the decision who would move first. Normally they would only send Bonnie out first to scout more than anything to see if the endoskeleton would leave on its own. Why they did this they didn't know, but it just felt like it was the best thing to do. This time, however, it was their time to consider what had just been said about them.

"Well, I never! That endoskeleton is the rudest little..." Freddy had attempted to curse, but due to the restrictions in their systems, they could only say words that were not prohibited in the pizzeria. Their programming had been set up rather well and it never relented. The fact that they could speak themselves was freedom enough.

Shaking her head in anger, Chica's voice was laced with venom that was unusual for her normally-positive attitude. "That was uncalled for. My cooking skills are amazing! What does it know?" She glared at the direction the target had gone to.

"Aye" Foxy said from Pirates Cove, slightly poking his head out from the curtains; though he was usually a loner half the time, he still maintained contact with the three. "I'll see how it likes its own medicine. Breaking a leg'll be the least of its worries when Capn' Foxy takes the scoundrel down." He snarled at the last part.

Nodding his head eagerly, Freddy started to formulate the plan. "We must start small, like we usually do. But this one won't get through three days. He dares call me fat? No man nor bot calls me fat and gets away with it!"

Chica also nodded, though she then noticed that something was amiss: Bonnie hadn't said anything yet. Leaving Freddy and Foxy to continue discussing the plan, she looked over to him just to see him looking down at the ground. Turning to him, she saw a look of puzzlement on his face. While they didn't have any muscles in their face to speak of, certain movements of their eyes could show their emotions. Things like happiness, sadness, anger and confusion were the majority of their limited options.

"Bonnie?" She asked, alerting the rabbit. The two of them had always been closest to each other compared to the other two; while all four of them maintained a strong friendship that had endured the roughest of times, Freddy and Foxy had more confidence than Chica and Bonnie. Chica simply didn't like talking to strangers; only once had she been able to without the others with her when she activated for seemingly no reason and talked to a janitor that was nearby. While at first in shock and was unsure of herself, the janitor had accepted the chance for conversation and the two had talked about many different things for what seemed like hours. After that night Chica never saw the janitor again. Probably quit or was laid off, the poor dear.

Snapping his head up quickly, Bonnie's face went from puzzlement to surprise. Just from that Chica could tell he was upset about something. Bonnie had never been good at hiding his emotions; he had always been a nervous wreck from as far back as Chica could remember. Not wanting to pry him for a reason, she had kept quiet about it for years.

"Um, yeah, Chica?" His voice was choked. from the sudden stop of Freddy and Foxy's conversation Chica could tell Freddy had also noticed the attempt to hide something. Moving slightly towards the two, Freddy had a look of concern on his own face.

Chica titled her head slightly. "You okay?" That was the thing about the four animatronics: They could always tell what mood one of them was in; So when Bonnie replied, they could all sense that he was lying. Whether it was a type of hive mind they shared of just simple magic was beyond them all.

Simply giving a shrug, Bonnie gave a look of confusion as if he was trying to convince them that he had no idea what they were talking about. "Sure. I mean, why wouldn't I be? We got a new one. We're gonna get them. I'm perfectly fine." He tried to smile to emphasize his point but it came out badly; the smile was nervous and had no genuine happiness about it.

Freddy's eyes narrowed. It normally seemed to be his favorite emotion; whilst Freddy always normally joked with his fellow animatronics, he was usually the stern one. If he wanted answers, he would be prepared to get them. Whether that was scaring a few people or showing that he wasn't going to tolerate lying, he was willing to put away his nice persona to don the natural leader personality that he was so good at.

"Bonnie," Freddy warned with a voice that could shake even the toughest of individuals. Chica instantly gave Freddy a reproachful look; she highly disagreed with that technique. If Bonnie was this upset about something, seeming angry with him would not help in the slightest. "Don't lie."

However, in spite of Chica's misgivings about Freddy's approach, it worked. Bonnie tried to make a gesture to say he doesn't know what Freddy was on about, but one final look at him from Freddy instantly broke down his walls and made him look down. He certainly wasn't the most emotionally stable one, (Though you could argue that none of them were exactly) so it didn't take long for Bonnie to finally lower his defense.

Once again looking down, he asked with a small voice: "Did... did I really scare the kids?"

All at once, the stern look Freddy was giving him was replaced with pity; Bonnie had lost a lot of his former confidence a long time ago after several events that none of them could really remember left all of them broken and hurt. He was overall the most damaged one out of them all; Freddy always stayed strong for the other three and rarely let his own pain out for them to see, Chica had managed to come to terms with her own pain many years ago and Foxy was solitary for the majority of the night and they were unable to talk during the day, so they never got a chance to discuss their problems.

Bonnie, however, had too much pain within him to keep it a secret and rarely managed to hide it well. Whether it was having a large amount of time staying quiet within his own thoughts or hiding out in the Janitor's closet, the hurt Bonnie held was easy to identify. Freddy walked to him and patted him on the back.

"Of course not." he said, "The children always liked you."

"Don't you remember all of the times a child has smiled at you?" Chica said gently, "They've loved you since they saw you."

"Yar, lad." Foxy poked his head out, "Don't listen t' the landlubber. E' will soon be walkin' the plank!"

Bonnie looked a bit happier at this. He was glad his friends were there, always supporting him.

He nodded. "Thanks, guys."

Freddy patted him again. "Good to hear. You sure you want to go first?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Don't worry, Bon." Chica gave the bunny a look of confidence.

"Tha' Endo will be ours by the end of the week."


	3. Old Job, New Tricks

It was Two AM when Mike noticed Bonnie had vanished. Strangely enough, on his first night on his first week at Freddy's, none of the animatronics moved until Four AM. All he could guess was that his comments to them angered them more than Mike thought they would; well, if they are as aggravated as Mike thought they would be, hopefully they would make a few mistakes. Maybe he could shut the door on one of them when they were just under it; not only would the door crush the animatronic, but it would also get him fired for property damage. Overall, it would be a win-win.

From what Mike could remember as he flicked through the cameras to find the rabbit as quickly as possible, Bonnie wouldn't immediately head to the office; instead, he would hang around the backstage or dining room until about Four AM, the same time Chica would move. Mike could see that the animatronics were skipping their day one technique and using the method that they used on day two; which means that Chica would move towards the Kitchen at around five AM and visit his office just as six am would approach. Bonnie, meanwhile, would have gone to Mike's office at least twice by then to confuse him more than try to catch him; it was at Five AM that Bonnie would go for Mike, moving quickly from whichever location he was at the time (It was in the Janitor's Office during Mike's first week) while Chica would make a ruckus in the Kitchen. As long as Mike was sure to remember both of them and never get distracted, he wouldn't fall for their trick. The other problem he had to deal with was Foxy; if the rabbit and chicken were altering their normal strategy, would the fox follow in pursuit? To find a possible answer, Mike flicked over to the Pirate's Cove camera; Foxy wasn't poking his ugly mug outside the curtains, so Mike decided to hope that he wouldn't bother him until the next shift. After enough time going through Bonnie's normal route, Mike found him walking around near the Dining room.

The Night Guard smiled; He had this one in the bag.

Treading slowly into the western hallway, Bonnie started advancing towards the Office. Waiting for a few seconds before closing the door, Mike observed Bonnie moving to the office; just as Bonnie reached the door, Mike pressed the door button and the door slammed shut right in front of the rabbit. Quickly raising his middle finger towards the window as he heard Bonnie walking away, Mike checked the stage through his tablet and saw that Chica was still with Freddy on the stage. Mike switched to the Janitor's closet camera and saw that Bonnie was hiding within; probably hoping that Mike would keep the door closed until after the rabbit walked away and would then open it whilst Bonnie was still in the area. Fat chance. Checking his watch, Mike saw that it was already Twenty-to-Four.

"Time passes quickly when you're having SO much fun." Mike said aloud, slightly hoping that the animatronics would hear. Opening the left door, Mike wondered if the animatronics even understood sarcasm. He wouldn't be surprised if they did; if they could be offended, surely they could understand "advanced" communication? Then again, they were robots stuck within a Pizzeria with their main human contact being the Night |Guards that they hunt every night.

Maybe they didn't know.

Shaking his head, Mike was snapped out of his thoughts when he realised Bonnie wasn't in backstage or the dining room. Checking his left door light and finding nothing, Mike resumed his search on the tablet that was on the table. Finding him leaving the hallway to enter the Dining Room once again, Mike realised that Bonnie tended to be the more predictable one out of them all. The rabbit had two different strategies, it seemed: Travelling at a moderate speed going from room-to-room was his way of trying to distract Mike whilst going slowly and then rushing him was his attack; the other three had many different tactics, but Bonnie stuck with the two; maybe this week things will be different.

Mike looked at the time, seeing four am arrive and switched to the stage camera. As predicted, she was stepping off the stage. Checking both door lights once more, he decided to check on Foxy.

Nothing.

Biting his lip slightly, Mike couldn't help the fact that he found this strange. Foxy hadn't even stirred behind the curtains of Pirate's Cove, yet it was 4am; Was this him having a day off?

_Maybe he ACTUALLY broke a leg._ Mike thought with a laugh. It was a good way to relieve the tension.

For the next hour things remained silent; not even Bonnie nor Chica came up to the office, Freddy was fulfilling his weekly routine of being a lazy sack of crap and Foxy was-

Music started playing from Pirate's Cove, being the sea shanty humming that Foxy tended to do when he wasn't being a complete dingus. He couldn't imagine why Foxy was doing it or even HOW he was doing it, since to the best of his knowledge only Freddy, Bonnie and Chica had musical software integrated within their system. Maybe he was taking a bath; might help him get the blood stains out of his costume and fry him at the same time.

It was halfway through 5am when Mike came across the rabbit and chicken; They were both in the dining room, staring at the camera as if they were waiting for something. Mike believed he knew what that something was…

Switching to Pirates cove, he saw Foxy burst out at break-neck speed. Practically jumping at the button to shut the door, Mike successfully stopped Foxy in his tracks.

"Better luck next time." Mike said in a cartoonish voice as Foxy banged on the door. Quickly looking at his power, Mike saw that he still had thirty-percent left. Not bad.

Checking his right door, he looked back at the dining room. As if nothing had happened, the two were still standing there. Mike couldn't help but smirk. Were their scare tactics a bit off tonight?

Then, looking at both the rabbit's eyes and the tile floor, Mike spotted something that would make any other guard void their bowels.

The Animatronics eyes were reflective. Not completely like a mirror, but just enough to make out shapes. From the floor, Mike could see Pirate's Cove. This wouldn't seem like a bad thing, since it could mean that Foxy would be seen if he jumped out at the wrong moment, but just out of Bonnie's right eye Mike could see the unmistakable shape of the Pirate Fox's hook.

Practically leaping for the left door, since the right door was already shut, Mike pressed the button. Just as Bonnie was preparing to turn through into the room, the door shut in front of him. With only a window separating the Night Guard and animatronic, Mike felt fear reaching towards his throat.

Despite this, Mike gave Bonnie a mocking smirk.

"If only this was a mirror," Mike said loud enough for the rabbit and the other animatronics to hear, "Maybe your circuits would fry as soon as you saw yourself."

To his credit, Bonnie remained unprovoked. Without so much as an angry look, Bonnie turned and headed back to the dining room. Either he was the strong-and-silent type or was too much of a pussy to defend himself.

Mike sat back down in the chair. After five minutes the bell for 6am dinged and the Animatronics went back to their respective places.

_So they can freeze cameras now._

_Perfect._

* * *

Bonnie watched as the security guard lef; He couldn't help but feel humiliated. Not only had this new endo completely obliterated the plan to get revenge for what it had said earlier, but it mocked him and Bonnie couldn't do a thing about it.

Though despite this Bonnie had a larger thought on his mind.

Where had he seen that endoskeleton before?


	4. Smokey Bear

Two days had passed since the new one had arrived. With the endoskeleton managing to avoid them for three whole nights, things were starting to get tense between the gang of animatronics. Feeling completely helpless, with their trump card falling flat on its face, they were starting to wonder whether they would win this. Things were not working as they should have; the endoskeleton was more skilled than any of them before and continued to mock the four whenever they turned up at its doors. They had a chance to talk to each other at six pm up until eight pm, since they wouldn't lock down until then.

Putting his hands on his head, Freddy gave a fake sigh of frustration, which went against his normally calm demeanour. Taking the worst of it, Freddy was starting to feel like this was his fault. If he had simply gone for the endoskeleton on the first night instead of waiting for the third night, they might have overwhelmed it. Instead, it was half way through the week and none of them had even come close. For all they know, even their seventh night might not be enough to finally catch the non-costumed endoskeleton.

"The most infuriating part of all of this" Freddy found himself saying, "Is the way it mocks us when there is a door between us. Do you know what it did yesterday when I tried to pay it a visit?"

Chica looked at him. "What?" She asked in a voice that made it seem like she already had the answer, but was making sure it was the correct one. Either that, or she was just humouring the bear.

"It put his middle finger up to my face." Freddy stated like it was a serious crime, "I wouldn't have been surprised if it had begged we had been in the same room."

The three agreed, with Foxy giving an almighty "Yar".

They were all feeling depressed. Freddy stood in the middle of the dining hall holding his microphone level with his waist whilst Chica was leaning against the stage, near the dining tables. Bonnie was a few meters away from her but was sitting down, looking at the ground as if he was thinking of a solution. Foxy, as usual, was in Pirates cove. Freddy was unsure what was in Pirate's Cove since Foxy never let any of them in there; Likely all of the props, lighting and pieces of the set had been taken away after he had been discontinued.

Bonnie sighed miserably. "I was sure freezing the cameras would work; I noticed how the endos' would always use them to try and find us, so I had hoped freezing them would have caught it off-guard. "

"There is no point talking about it anymore." Freddy replied without looking.

Chica raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Yar, ol' Foxy can't see why not." Foxy pointed to Bonnie with his hook. "The lad had a good plan, an' it could've worked."

"The endoskeleton somehow figured it out; we need to try something new." Freddy said dismissively.

Bonnie looked up at the bear. "But if we plan it out and do it again much differently I'm sure we'll have a shot! With you also distracting him and Foxy running for the office every half-an-hour or so, it just might be enough. I mean, I know it'll be expecting it-"

Freddy spun around and glared at the rabbit as well as the other two. "I already said: THERE IS NO POINT. Instead of using tactics that failed, we need to think of a new plan that will work." His sudden aggressive tone took them all back, even himself.

Chica's original look of shock turned into anger and disappointment after Freddy had snapped at Bonnie. Foxy also peaked his head out and rose an eyebrow up as if to say: _Really_?

However, it was the hurt in Bonnies eyes that brought Freddy back to his senses.

His facial expression changed to a dumbfounded shock at his reaction. After that, guilt took over.

"Bonnie, I..." Struggling to get the words out, Freddy looked at Bonnie with a sorrowful expression, "I didn't mean-"

Bonnie stopped him by raising his lavender-coloured arm into a 'halt' gesture.

"No, Freddy. You're right." Bonnie sighed, though the other two relaxed at seeing that Bonnie wasn't too upset. "If I had done it a bit quicker I may have gotten it. I had hesitated just before going. It's my fault. "

Freddy shook his head. "You tried your best. I just..." He stopped a second, back to a dumbfounded expression. "I really have no idea where any of that came from." Looking at nothing in particular, he walked to the restrooms. Watching him leave, the other three was just as confused.

"Shiver me timbers, wha' was that about?" Foxy asked as he slightly emerged from Pirate's Cove. "Has the seadog finally lost his wits?"

Pushing herself from the stage, Chica gave Foxy a glance. "Maybe." Then she came to Bonnie's side.

"You sure you're okay?" She queried with a concerned look. Bonnie gave her a half smile.

"I could be worse, considering things."

Foxy nodded. "Yar, at least the landlubber endo hasn't tried to challenge ol' Foxy to a duel. Wouldn't end well for it!"

* * *

It had taken half a week of planning and asking, but Mike had what he needed.

Driving his car back to his apartment, the twenty-four-year-old looked in the backseat to see the small case that would help him. Inside of the case was a non-silenced vintage PM (Or Makarov Pistol) that was still in good condition. Twenty bullets were in the case along with the pistol.

His friend, named Ben, was a deer hunter. Not only did he have a license, but he had several guns inside his house just outside the city. According to him, there had never been an incident with them and he made sure to keep them locked up tight with the safety on within his basement.

Mike had spent a bit of time trying to convince his friend that he needed one of these weapons. Not having a license or having the time to get one, he was in trouble. After an hour of arguing he eventually said Mike could have one of his pistols for a month tops.

After arriving home, he put the case down in his bedroom and got ready for his shift. Currently half-past nine, Mike loaded ammo into the gun. Ben had showed him briefly the beginning tips of shooting. Mike knew how to turn the safety off and could shoot rather straight, so it wouldn't be too hard to take down the animatronics with it.

"_So… why do you need it anyway? What are you shooting?" Ben had asked._

"_Bears." Mike had replied simply._

_With a smile, Ben had gestured to a poster on his wall which had a cartoon bear on the front with a safety helmet on. "What, like Smokey here?_

"_Yeah, you could say that."_

Mike smiled. In a few hours, he would be having some good old fashioned revenge.

**Mike wants to kick some ass!**

**Remember to leave a review!**


	5. Revenge of the Fluffies

**11:45**

**Day 4**

From the parking lot, Mike observed the pizzeria. This was the same pizzeria that five months ago he had been helpless in if any threats came knocking; The same pizzeria that had changed his life for the worse.

This time, it was different. This time, it was his chance to inflict pain.

Picking up the case that held the animatronics' doom within, Mike walked to the entrance. He started planning how this would work. The animatronics were tough, but Mike knew they couldn't deflect bullets.

This time entering the pizzeria was different, though. His boss, likely having a late day, had just left the building as Mike was walking up; he was reading some pieces of paper that likely were reports. What information they had on which type of business Garfield owned, Mike had no idea. Whatever it was, it would likely be enough to put Garfield in jail for at least a few years.

Too bad Mike would end up dead within a week if he happened to be the one who 'found' these reports.

His boss looked up. "Mr. Schmidt." Genuine surprise was his expression. More likely than not, he would have thought that Mike's luck had finally ended alongside his life before that night. "How pleasant to see you."

Shrugging, Mike simply looked at the man with a passive-aggressive stance. "I bet it is." After everything that Garfield had put him through, he honestly didn't care about being 'respectful to his superiors". If Garfield didn't like it, there wasn't much he could do to make his life more difficult than it already is.

In response, his boss frowned. "Just thought you would like to know that tonight will be a bit... different."

Mike's left eyebrow raised slightly; did Garfield somehow know about the gun?

"You see, our electricity was shut off earlier today by unknown sources. We managed to get it back online, but it is working at half of its capacity."

Trying to keep a normal expression, Mike felt like punching something. The technicians either couldn't be bothered to fix the power that day or Garfield had told them not to, so they would just wait until the next day. Typical. The job was difficult enough without his power being at fifty percent right at the start.

Overall, he was glad he had gotten that gun that day.

Plastering a smile on his face, Mike decided to keep his cool. "I'm sure it won't be a problem." Without waiting for a reply, Mike barged into the pizzeria and went into the office. The case, still in his hand, had managed to evade Garfield's notice. Placing it on the table, Mike looked at the clock. 11:55. Five more minutes until what could be his final night at Freddy's would take place.

He sighed as he sat down.

_This is gonna be a long night._

* * *

As usual, the three animatronics that hadn't been discontinued stood on the stage as they awaited their chance to leave the stage. Foxy was in Pirates Cove, probably brooding. Despite this, they weren't thinking about a game plan- even though they really should have since only three nights remained until the endoskeleton would leave the pizzeria.

Freddy was thinking about how they normally went through, coming with the conclusion that they needed to head into the situation differently. Every single one of their strategies had failed up to this point, with failure after failure providing the evidence that they just were not working. Freddy had even got moving earlier than usual by straight away going for the office the previous night. At this point, Freddy knew why.

He knew the moment Bonnie mentioned he had seen the endoskeleton before that it was the one that got away; The one that five months ago he held by the neck on the final night, pushing it closer and closer to the suit. Freddy could remember it's pleas, it's cries for mercy and the blood-curdling screams it gave as it was inches away from the suit. That thought gave Freddy pause; why did the endoskeletons fear the suits as much as they did? It was almost like they were acting like they were about to…

Before Freddy could think about completing that thought, his shook his head. He occasionally had thoughts like that, but they were ridiculous. The endoskeletons obviously would do that to try and trick him and his friends into letting them go. Anyway, as it was so close to being put in the suit, it turned to 6am. They were so close, but they failed.

Freddy thought about the plan that Bonnie had come up with for the first day; It was clever. There was no denying that. The cameras had always been the endoskeleton's strongest offensive weapon. Freezing them made it obsolete, as it meant that it would be harder to keep track of the animatronics.

Even then, it managed to get away.

Thinking about it, Freddy realized the only way they could use the weapon again was to do it early, quickly and in a way the endoskeleton either wouldn't realise at all or until it was too late...

Freddy's eyes lit up slightly when he realized the solution, as if a light bulb had just been turned on within his head.

"That's it." Freddy said loud enough for the other three to hear.

Chica and Bonnie turned to him. "What's it?" Chica asked while Bonnie gave Freddy a quizzical look.

Freddy looked at her with a rare grin on his face. "Bonnie's plan." He said simply.

Turning back so he could address them all, Freddy began to explain his plan.

"We all know doing what we did earlier won't work. This endoskeleton has already discovered it and found a way how to stop it and it seems to know all our normal techniques. Now, here's my question: What is the main problem with the plan at the moment?"

"We don't have enough time for this, Freddy!" Chica answered impatiently.

"Exactly." Freddy's grin seemed to broaden, though that was impossible. "We don't have enough time! None of us three can get to the office fast enough. Foxy won't be able to freeze them because he doesn't have the radio box we have and he would be the only one who could reach the office before the endoskeleton could shut the door. So, how can we solve this?"

Bonnie looked at Freddy with a confused face, but it then transformed into a smile when he realised what Freddy was saying.

"If Pirate's Cove is frozen, but Foxy isn't the one there." He answered. As if they were a hive mind, Chica and Foxy both understood as soon as Bonnie said that.

Freddy was glad someone finally understood what he was saying. Now he had to go through the plan.

"Now that everyone is on the same page, here is what we do. We might only have one chance at this; if this works, that endoskeleton will be in a suit before dawn breaks.

**Freddy has a trick up his sleeve!**


	6. Fox Hunt

**Here it is! Chapter 6 of the story!**

**I would like to thank anyone who has reviewed, favourited, followed or just viewed my story. It helps me a lot to know I'm being supported! :D**

**DannyPhantom619: Had the idea he would use a gun to defend himself since the story started. Seems like a good choice.**

**Guest: After all Mike has gone through, I wouldn't be surprised if he acted like a badass.**

**Now, time for Mike's most difficult night yet!**

It was only One am and both the rabbit and chicken were out somewhere. Mike hadn't bothered checking the camera since they now had the ability to freeze them; How the hell they had learned that, Mike hadn't a clue. Could these things be learning somehow? That was more frightening to Mike than the prospect that they were trying to kill him. They obviously had some kind of artificial intelligence, though whether it was a strong or weak one was anyone's guess.

Mike's pattern had turned into what he had done during the seventh night on his first week, just slower: Check Pirates Cove for any movement, check if Freddy was on the stage, check both doors, shut the right door and then repeat. Repetitive, but trustworthy. It had kept him alive during a night where he had honestly thought he was going to die and yet here he was.

With the gun on the desk, all Mike had to do if an animatronic DID get in was shoot them until they weren't moving; in the event that they flooded into the room, Mike would attempt to leave the office and run around the pizzeria. When he was younger he got a lot of practice from his uncle; hopefully it would help him. If not, Mike was not going to let the animatronics catch him. If this night led to him being cornered with no chance of escape, he would put a bullet through his head. Better that way than through their own.

Two am went by the same as the first two hours; However, he had noticed that Bonnie hadn't come down to the door the entire time. Mike was starting to wonder where the hell the rabbit was and why he was being a jackass. When three am came, he checked Pirates Cove once more.

What he saw answered his question.

Behind the curtain was obviously an animatronic clutching with one hand the right curtain, peering out slightly. Normally, Mike would dismiss this as another one of Foxy's scare tactics. However, there was a rather long ear stretching several inches upwards from the curtain like squashed pillars.

Mikes eyes widened to the size of tomatoes.

They'd tricked him.

As if a confirmation had occurred, Mike heard quick footsteps coming down the hall. There wouldn't be enough time to shut the door. Knowing that the right door was closed, Mike grabbed the pistol on his desk, kicked back off the legs of the desk so that his back was against the right door and aimed towards the opened left door.

Sure enough, Foxy himself appeared from the opening as fast as lightning, making that horrible screeching sound that Mike had heard coming from the animatronics occasionally and raising the eye patch from his face, revealing the left eye.

The second bullet hit him in the left foot, causing the fox to fall towards the side but managed to regain his balance before falling to the ground. Obviously surprised, Foxy attempted to lunge towards Mike before he could fire again in a more damaging place.

The second bullet hit him in the exposed left eye. Screeching, the fox grabbed the damaged eye and attempted to back away. "**YE BLEEDIN' LANDLUBBER, I BE SENDING YA TO DAVY JONE'S LOCKER!" **He opened his right eye, looked at Mike before seeing the pistol that Mike held, which was pointed right towards him.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The last bullet went through the chest area of the fox. The fox stood perfectly still for a moment, as if nothing had happened, before sparks started to come from the fresh bullet holes within him and he tumbled to the ground in a heap. Mike could only watch as the formally-threatening Fox laid perfectly still on the ground, his one good eye losing the light that came from his endoskeleton.

Alerted by the gunshots, the other three rushed to the office. Mike had only a few seconds to close the left door which he managed to do before Bonnie and Freddy were at the door. Chica would obviously be at the right door which was closed already. Even with their fellow animatronic now down for the count, they were still predictable.

They all stared at their fallen comrade. What seemed like horrified looks came from Bonnie and Chica. Freddy looked at Mike through the window, eyes switching to the terrifying black orbs that the four tended to use to scare the Night Guard.

"**What did you do?"**Freddy growled in a robotic voice**, **full of a type of anger that Mike wouldn't have expected from an animatronic; sorrowful but furious.** "What did you do!?"**

Despite practically pissing himself at the furious animatronics' rage Mike smirked.

"The same thing I'll do to you." He retorted. "Let this be a message to the three of you that are still walking: I have had enough of this. I'm the hunter now."

Freddy's face suggested he was going to break the glass separating the two; However, the rather loud tapping of footsteps came from the stage area. It was almost as if someone was jumping up and down on the wooden flooring, wanting to be heard.

Still with the look of fury on his face, Freddy glanced in the direction of the sound. Still with his eyes black as midnight, he looked into Mike's own eyes like he was staring right into his soul. His jaw moved scarcely as he said the next few words.

**"Who else is here?"**

Dumbfounded himself at the noise, Mike shook his head slowly.

"I don't know." The words came out strangely non-aggressively, as if his concern matched Freddy's for the source of the sound. Whoever or whatever it was could prove a threat to Mike as much as it would be for the animatronics.

Freddy turned once again to the direction of the sound, then back. Staring at Mike a bit longer, almost as if he was trying to figure something out, he gestured to the other two that he was going to investigate. Leaving the other two to continue watching the Night Guard, Freddy walked off down the hallway.

Four AM struck and Mike's plan to get out of this was not coming together. There were still two very angry animatronics standing behind both doors, a third somewhere else in the pizzeria and a fourth one was dead on the ground. If Mike's power ran out, which was going to happen soon by the signs that the 18% power was giving, the two would rush him before he could do anything; trying to open a door wouldn't work since the animatronic on that side might avoid the bullet and grab him.

This did not look good.

Twenty more minutes passed and the situation was pretty much the same. Foxy was in the middle of the room laying on his side, his damaged eye half way across the room. Several times Mike kicked Foxy just to make sure he was still 'dead', causing the two other animatronics to glare at the night guard. Mike honestly didn't care at this point.

With only 15% power left, Mike was giving up hope on escaping alive. He looked at the gun and started to think; he had decided that he wouldn't take the easy way out unless things got to the point where survival was impossible. Yet even still, he started to raise the pistol upwards. The animatronics looked at him confused as he rose the gun up to head level.

_There really isn't any way out of this._ Escape seemed impossible, since he still had two hours remaining and only 12% power remained. It would likely be easier now to end it then to wait in a vain hope that something would get him out of there alive. He rested his gun against his head, finger slowly reaching for the trigger. His eyes closed slowly…

…when a screech snapped his eyes open and he lowered the gun. The sound of a gunshot filled his senses as he saw the shocked expressions on the animatronics' faces. They turned to look at the area towards the stage, looked at each other and hurried down the hall. They would very likely find their dead leader at their destination.

Holding the gun in his left hand, Mike paced around the room. Whatever had just happened could prove to be a way out of the pizzeria; if it wasn't, Mike could be facing two or three animatronics in an open space. Sitting down in his chair, he held his head up with his right hand.

His only choice was to use his pistol to take down the robots; Only problem is that he had to be careful and not miss. Mike had wasted two bullets in taking Foxy down and that was when Mike had the advantage. He could possibly take one or two of the remaining animatronics down, but three? It honestly could not get any worse than it already was.

The world proved that it hated him when he heard the noise behind him.

"Arrgh, me head feels like 't got blown by a musket..."

**Oh nelly, Foxy is alive!**

**How it will go when he gets a hold of himself, you ask?**

**Probably not the way you'd think!**


	7. Maintenance

**What the hell happened to the view count? XD**

**I would just like to thank everyone who has read my story. Having over 1000 views in a story I started just two days ago is huge!**

**Knowing people like something of mine means a lot.**

**Now, I present to you: Chapter 7!**

It was as if someone had just stabbed Mike in the chest. The animatronic rose, looking away from the Night Guard. Backing up towards his desk, he pointed the gun at the now-standing animatronic. This was not how Mike wanted this to go. He didn't know why he hesitated to shoot the fox in the back of the head, but whatever the case was that was all he did.

Foxy had already gotten to his feet. Luckily, he wasn't looking at Mike; otherwise Mike would have been jumped by now. The fox stood unsteadily as he faced the back wall of the office.

Foxy shook his head like he was trying to get a reach on to his thoughts. He rose his hook slightly, looking at it. Stopping, either finding the thought he was looking for or realizing that there was someone behind him, Foxy looked at the bullet hole in his chest and leg, as well as the eyeball that was just a few inches away from him. Fortunately, he did not look around, suggesting it was the former.

"I was shot." He spoke to himself in a deep pirate accent. Mike was starting to feel a bit nervous. The animatronic had survived 3 shots. Barely managing to shoot him the first time, Mike heard that last sentence and was worried what would happen when the fox turned to see the guy who shot him standing there, ready to put another bullet in him.

Almost reading his thoughts, Foxy slowly turned around to see the man who shot him pointing his gun at Foxy's head. His expression, at first puzzlement, turned into realisation as he saw the gun in his hand. Despite this, neither fear nor anger crossed the fox's face.

Foxy pointed at Mike with his hook and asked in a questioning tone: "You shot ol' Foxy, did ye?"

At this point, Mike didn't know where his bravery came from. He would have thought that he would have at least stayed quiet at Foxy's question, but something made him say the three words that would lead to his sure death at the hands of the animatronic fox.

"I sure did."

* * *

They found Freddy strewn across the floor of the stage, obviously in a state of disrepair after he was attacked. Whoever had shot him was long gone after Bonnie and Chica arrived, almost no trace that they were there remaining except for the broken animatronic bear and Bonnie's guitar that lay in two pieces on the ground.

Carrying him into the backstage room, they cleared the table and set him down on top of it before assessing the damage done to him. There was a bullet hole through Freddy's chest which had gone through the bear and a cracked part of his head on the left where the guitar must have struck. One of his eyes had come out of the socket from the blow.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Bonnie asked, concerned that not one, but TWO of them had been taken down. The damages done to both of them were frightening by itself, as it very well might have permanently destroyed them. The possibility that not one, but two of their friends were killed whilst they could do nothing about it was almost too much for Bonnie to handle.

"I'm sure he will be." Chica said reassuringly. "Foxy, too."

The two looked at Freddy's downed form, not knowing what was happening within.

_Freddy walked down the west hallway towards the dining area, feeling every part of his body cringe in both anger and fright. That endoskeleton had hurt and possibly killed Foxy; all because of Freddy's 'plan'. Freddy had put Foxy into a position where his life was in danger and now he was paying for it._

_However, Freddy knew he had to focus. There was another endoskeleton walking around here, possibly wanting to hurt them. If either Bonnie or Chica were harmed tonight, Freddy would tear the culprit in half._

_Twenty minutes had passed and Freddy hadn't found anything. He looked backstage, in the restrooms, in the kitchen, everywhere. Just as he was walking through the dining hall ready to give up and return to his friends, he heard a small bump._

_Looking up at the stage, he noticed Bonnie's guitar was missing. Just two minutes earlier it had been up on the stand, when Freddy had investigated the stage before._

_As Freddy walked up the stairs he checked every dark corner of the stage. He even went all the way to the back of the stage and looked around; he heard movement behind him and as he turned his head to the left, something hit him hard._

_Feeling one of his eyes had been knocked out of the socket, Freddy opened the other. Finally managing to stand, he turned around to see an endoskeleton standing at the other end of the stage. The endoskeleton was holding a pistol and was pointing in at Freddy._

"_You brought this on yourself, you know." The endoskeleton remarked._

_Freddy knew he wasn't going to be able to reach the endoskeleton before he was shot, but it was worth a try. Screeching, he jumped at the endoskeleton. He was only a few meters away when it fired._

_Falling to the ground on his back, Freddy's vision went dark._

_**Maintenance at: 25% completion. Resuming…**_

* * *

_Freddy walked down the west hallway towards the dining area, feeling every part of his body cringe in both anger and fright. That figure had hurt and possibly killed Foxy; all because of Freddy's 'plan'. Freddy had put Foxy into a position where his life was in danger and now he was paying for it._

_However, Freddy knew he had to focus. There was another figure walking around here, possibly wanting to hurt them. If either Bonnie or Chica were harmed tonight, Freddy would tear the culprit in half._

_Twenty minutes had passed and Freddy hadn't found anything. He looked backstage, in the restrooms, in the kitchen, everywhere. Just as he was walking through the dining hall ready to give up and return to his friends, he heard a small bump._

_Looking up at the stage, he noticed Bonnie's guitar was missing. Just two minutes earlier it had been up on the stand, when Freddy had investigated the stage before._

_As Freddy walked up the stairs he checked every dark corner of the stage. He even went all the way to the back of the stage and looked around; he heard movement behind him and as he turned his head to the left, something hit him hard._

_Feeling one of his eyes had been knocked out of the socket, Freddy opened the other. Finally managing to stand, he turned around to see a figure standing at the other end of the stage. The figure was holding a pistol and was pointing in at Freddy._

"_You brought this on yourself, you know." The figure remarked._

_Freddy knew he wasn't going to be able to reach the figure before he was shot, but it was worth a try. Screeching, he jumped at the figure. He was only a few meters away when it fired._

_Falling to the ground on his back, Freddy's vision went dark._

_**Maintenance at: 50% completion. Resuming…**_

* * *

_Freddy walked down the west hallway towards the dining area, feeling every part of his body cringe in both anger and fright. That figure had hurt and possibly killed Foxy; all because of Freddy's 'plan'. Freddy had put Foxy into a position where his life was in danger and now he was paying for it._

_However, Freddy knew he had to focus. There was another figure walking around here, possibly wanting to hurt them. If either Bonnie or Chica were harmed tonight, Freddy would tear the culprit in half._

_Twenty minutes had passed and Freddy hadn't found anything. He looked backstage, in the restrooms, in the kitchen, everywhere. Just as he was walking through the dining hall ready to give up and return to his friends, he heard a small bump._

_Looking up at the stage, he noticed Bonnie's guitar was missing. Just two minutes earlier it had been up on the stand, when Freddy had investigated the stage before._

_As Freddy walked up the stairs he checked every dark corner of the stage. He even went all the way to the back of the stage and looked around; he heard movement behind him and as he turned his head to the left, something hit him hard._

_Feeling one of his eyes had been knocked out of the socket, Freddy opened the other. Finally managing to stand, he turned around to see a figure standing at the other end of the stage. The figure was holding a pistol and was pointing in at Freddy._

"_You brought this on yourself, you know." The figure remarked._

_Freddy knew he wasn't going to be able to reach the figure before he was shot, but it was worth a try. Screeching, he jumped at the figure. He was only a few meters away when he fired._

_Falling to the ground on his back, Freddy's vision went dark._

_**Maintenance at: 75% completion. Resuming…**_

* * *

_Freddy walked down the west hallway towards the dining area, feeling every part of his body cringe in both anger and fright. The Night Guard had hurt and possibly killed Foxy; all because of Freddy's 'plan'. Freddy had put Foxy into a position where his life was in danger and now he was paying for it._

_However, Freddy knew he had to focus. There was another person walking around here, possibly wanting to hurt them. If either Bonnie or Chica were harmed tonight, Freddy would tear the culprit in half._

_Twenty minutes had passed and Freddy hadn't found anything. He looked backstage, in the restrooms, in the kitchen, everywhere. Just as he was walking through the dining hall ready to give up and return to his friends, he heard a small bump._

_Looking up at the stage, he noticed Bonnie's guitar was missing. Just two minutes earlier it had been up on the stand, when Freddy had investigated the stage before._

_As Freddy walked up the stairs he checked every dark corner of the stage. He even went all the way to the back of the stage and looked around; he heard movement behind him and as he turned his head to the left, something hit him hard._

_Feeling one of his eyes had been knocked out of the socket, Freddy opened the other. Finally managing to stand, he turned around to see a man standing at the other end of the stage. The man was holding a pistol and was pointing in at Freddy._

"_You brought this on yourself, you know." The man remarked._

_Freddy knew he wasn't going to be able to reach the man before he was shot, but it was worth a try. Screeching, he jumped at the man. He was only a few meters away when he fired._

_Falling to the ground on his back, Freddy's vision went dark._

_**Maintenance at: 100% completion. Rebooting…**_

_Freddy's eyes lit up as he was reactivated. Everything came back to him as he realised what they had done._

**Oh, cliffhanger!**

**Now, I bet you are trying to figure what going to happen.**

**Will Foxy kill Mike?**

**Will Mike kill Foxy?**

**Will Balloon Boy suddenly jump out and kill everyone?**

**Find out next time!**


	8. Realisation

**I checked the view count this morning and found myself with an amazing 1200 views. Checked it again and found 1600 views! Where are you guys coming from? :D **

**Now, on to chapter 8!**

With a look of curiosity, Foxy looked at the gun in the guard's hands, inspecting every detail of it. Mike had no idea why he hadn't attacked him yet, (Or vice-versa) or why Foxy looked at his gun like it was some kind of puzzle. Also... why were the animal robots talking to him? Could this night get any weirder than it was at that moment.

Foxy just stood against the wall staring the gun. His quiet demeanour was starting to unnerve Mike; this was difficult enough without the fox staring at the weapon that Mike had shot him with. Then, as if a light bulb had appeared over his head, Foxy finally broke the silence as he looked at Mike with his head tilted.

"Endos aren't ones ta use guns." he said in a matter-of-fact voice. His voice was too… normal, surprisingly. Mike was expecting a robotic simulated voice, yet this was like a human's voice. There was just as much emotion within it. Almost like Foxy was generating his own voice rather than using already-existing sound clips.

Mike couldn't help but bite his lip in confusion; this was not how he saw this going. Instead of having a 'pleasant' conversation, Mike was expecting Foxy to charge at him the moment he saw the Night Guard. Instead, Foxy was making Mike question what a human really was.

"I'm... not an endo. Also, what the hell IS an endo?" Mike thought he already knew the answer but wanted it clarified. For all he knew, an 'endo' could be how the animatronics referred to humans. Maybe instead of them being confused about what the difference was, maybe they saw no difference.

Foxy looked at him through his remaining eye, tapping his suit with his hook. "An endoskeleton, matey. Those things in the closet. They be mighty fine buccaneers, though they be needing their suits if they be out on the poop deck, the ol' scallywags!" He gave a genuine smile and shook his head slightly.

Just as Mike had thought.

"Well, I'm not an endoskeleton. I'm a human being." When Mike said that, he thought whether the animatronics knew what a human was; he decided to give a bit more information. "You know, those things that would walk around during the day? The cleaners, guests, managers, technicians…" He narrowed his eyes slightly: "Guards?"

Foxy's eyes widened. "Well, shoot me out 'f a cannon, ye are, aren't ya?" He rose his hook to point at Mike again. "Ol' Foxy be guessing that ye be the Night Guard, am I right?"

Mike nodded. He was slightly pleased that the fox knew what a human was and didn't seem to harbour any resentment towards him, so that was something. Didn't really change much, though. "What made you think that I was an endoskeleton?"

Foxy considered this for a moment. "Years ago, we all 'ad the same idea in our minds that any one after 'ours that weren't in a suit were endos. Can't imagine why, though. Ye look nothing like an endo. Somethin' just convinced me and the others that ye were. So, we thought ye were an endo." He gave an apologetic look to Mike. "Sorry, lad."

Despite the apology, Mike's eyes narrowed. It didn't really matter if Foxy was sorry that he had tried to kill him, (Though Mike noticed that he slightly lowered his gun) because there was still the problem of Mike's predecessors.

"You don't have to give your apologies to me." He stated bluntly, "I'm one of the lucky ones; you should give them to the ones who weren't so lucky and ended up stuffed inside of those suits!"

Foxy took a step back and gave an incredulous look at the guard. "What did ye just say? What are ye talking about, mate?"

Mike pointed in the general direction of the backstage room, where he knew that the many suits that were once used as murder weapons lay. "All of them 'endos' that you stuffed in the suits? The ones that were in the same room as me, the same job role as me and here at the same TIME as me? They weren't endos."

Shaking his head, Foxy had a look of denial on his face. "Ye must be mistaken, lad. They be endoskeletons! Ye never saw them."

"I didn't need to see them." Mike stated. "If you don't believe me, listen to this."

Looking to his right, Mike pressed a button on the answering machine next to a cable phone that sat on his desk. From it, a very familiar voice started to talk.

_Hello, hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine. So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay?_

For his part, Foxy looked at the phone with surprise, but also what seemed to be recognition. He knew that voice from somewhere; it was just whether he could match it with the voice of one of the many 'endoskeletons' that he, along with the three other animatronics, had hunted other the period of a week.

_Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, __"__Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life.__Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced."_

THAT got Foxy's attention; while they were only children entertainment animatronics, they could surely tell that someone talking about an environment being dangerous meant that the objects within that environment were causing the danger.

_Blah blah blah, now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. __Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No.__If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too.__ So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay._

"Ol' Foxy never got tired o' those shanties." Foxy said with a grumble, though he did seem grateful that someone understood their pains. He also nodded in agreement at the last part.

_So, just be aware, __the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night.__ Uh...Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. __Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?_

There wasn't a reaction on Foxy's face when the Bite of '87 was mentioned; whether that meant he was keeping his feelings about it secret or he didn't remember anything about it was something Mike himself didn't have the answers to.

_Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll p-most likely see you as a metal __endoskeleton__ without its costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit._

Jaw slightly opening, Foxy took a step back. Looking between the phone and Mike, the pirate fox didn't seem to know what to think. The mention of their motives for attacking the Night Watchman every night must have triggered something within Foxy for him to realise that Mike's story might have been true.

_Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort...and death. __Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh._

Whether it was the detail of violence or that Foxy had reached the conclusion that they really HAD been killing people, the animatronic turned away. Even still, Mike made sure to keep watch in case this was all just an act for Mike to lower his guard.

_Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up. __But hey, first day should be a breeze__. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night."_

Looking at the phone once again, Foxy had a look of despair on his face.

"No..." The words slipped out in a voice a bit louder than a whisper. He turned around and started hammering at the wall with his fist, shocking Mike to the point that he jumped backwards slightly.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He yelled every time he hit the wall, his voice torn between a cry of fury and a sob. "How could I be so blind!?

He clutched his head and leaned it against the wall.

Mike, who had watched the whole event was completely speechless. The sudden outburst had confused Mike to no end; was the robot, an animatronic robot, having regrets? This wasn't just an AI; Mike was sure of that.

Finally gaining his composure, Foxy turned around and slouched against the wall. Looking at the ground, he thought about everything the four animatronics had done over the past 30 years whilst Mike lowered his gun to his hip and simply stared at the fox.

That was when the power died.

* * *

Sudden darkness covered the pizzeria, the sound of all the machinery turning off at the same time. Freddy had just gotten up when the lights turned off, Bonnie and Chica standing at his side.

"You alright?" Chica asked the awakened Freddy. Nodding, Freddy got to his feet.

"I'm alright."

Bonnie gestured towards the door. "C'mon! The doors must have opened; we have our chance!"

Freddy knew that no amount of talking would convince them of what he had learnt. He needed them to be on the same level first.

"Okay." He said calmly. "But do not engage until I say so."

With that, the three of them made their way down to the office. Freddy hoped that Foxy had awakened as well, because he wasn't sure he could convince both Chica and Bonnie that this 'endoskeleton' was actually the Night Guard.


	9. Stand-off

**Well, not only have we reached the 2000 view mark, not only did we reach 14 followers and 8 favorites, but we also gained 8 reviews in just three days. Wow. That's awesome! :D**

**So, I would like to give an update on my upload schedule: I am going to be posting at least one chapter a day. Whether it is on this story or my other story is random, so if the story hasn't been updated at one point, I may have chosen to update that one.**

**Now for reviews!**

**Darkrider220****: There will be many mysteries that may not be answered until a later point. That might be one of them.**

**Guest1****: I try my best. :)**

**Guest2****: Fritz isn't in this story... is he? Will he? MIGHT HE? Guess we'll have to find out!**

**Koasis****: Wow... that actually meant a lot to me. Thank you. :)**

**Now, enough of me being sentimental. I present to you... Chapter 9!**

Mike hadn't been able to prevent the swear that came out his mouth. _I can't believe I forgot about the damn power!__ His conversation with Foxy had made him absent-minded, which was likely now going to get him killed._

He could see Foxy against the wall still standing where he was, single eye glowing in the darkness. Mike suddenly had the horrible thought that Foxy had been tricking him the entire time, waiting until the power ran out, at which the fox and the others could jump him at the same time.

These thoughts escalated when the animatronic started to walk towards him. Mike leaned against the wall. Gun in hand, he wondered whether he could once again shoot the fox before he reached him. From the overall likelihood, it would very doubtful.

Foxy saw Mike raise the gun and stopped. Raising his hand (And hook) he stood there and finally started talking.

"Listen te me." He whispered quickly as though someone was watching, "I know ya don't trust me, but if they get a han' on ye, ye'll not survive tonight."

Both of them heard the heavy footsteps heading towards the office. Either the two that had left previously were returning alone or Freddy was with them. His whispers got more frantic.

"Quick, get in the corner! I'll protect ye. Hurry!"

Mike realized he had no other option; with the remaining bullets the gun held and the fact that they were in complete darkness, he couldn't take the three on. Getting into the right-hand corner opposite the desk, Foxy turned around so he was facing the door, right in front of Mike.

They couldn't have cut it closer, because the three animatronics had just passed the window when Mike had gotten into the corner. The moment of truth was here.

When Freddy entered the door, he was stunned to see the fox standing there. A smile appeared on his face.

"Foxy." He said with both relief and curiosity in his voice, "You're okay! I was worried you might have been broken."

Foxy nodded. "I cut it close, mind ye. Took a while te get back up."

Freddy and the others fully entered the office, blocking the left door. Chica and Bonnie were also relieved by Foxy's reappearance. Freddy looked around.

"Do you know where the endoskeleton went?" He finally asked. Urgency was in his voice, probably due to there only being forty-five minutes until dawn.

Foxy simply shook his head. "By the time I came to, the rascal had already escaped."

Freddy's eyebrows raised. "Really? Because we didn't see or hear it leave. Chica was by the backstage door the entire time." His voice showed that he was slightly suspicious.

Foxy shrugged. "Have ya looked in the supply closet?"

"I did before we got here. Nothing." Bonnie piped in.

"Hallway?"

"No."

"Kitchen?"

Freddy started scowling. "Where is it, Foxy?"

The fox had a confused look on his face. "What do ya mean, Freddy? I told ya just a few minutes ago I have no idea where it be at!"

A scowl came across Freddy's eyes. "Foxy, listen to me. We need to find the… endoskeleton… before something bad happens to him."

"Wait, what?"

Freddy froze, realising his mistake. Both Chica and Bonnie looked at Freddy with confusion while Foxy gave him a wink in acknowledgement.

"Freddy?" Bonnie quietly talked, "What did you say?"

Freddy had a displeased look on his face. "Look, it is complicated."

Chica scowled, "Freddy, why did you just refer to it as a 'he'?"

Freddy finally turned to them. "Alright, listen. We need to talk about something. The… endoskeleton that you are trying to catch… isn't an endoskeleton."

"What are you saying?" Chica piped in. "Of course it is!"

Shaking his head, Bonnie gave a look of concern for his friend. "Freddy, maybe you should go back to the backstage area. You might be malfunctioning…"

"He's not malfunctioning."

Freddy and the others looked over at where the voice had come from. Their eyes lead them to Foxy, who was looking at the floor cringing. But why? Freddy realised that the Night Guard was behind Foxy.

Foxy turned behind him and whispered something that sounded a lot like "Get ready to run, lad."

Freddy shook his head. "No, that will make this worse." He directed his attention to the man behind Foxy. "Listen, I know who you are. We won't hurt you."

Slowly, someone walked behind from Foxy to right next to him. It was a man, in his mid-twenties, who had sandy-brown hair and green eyes. He wore a purple jumpsuit and matching hat that Freddy realised was the Freddy's Security clothing. In his hand, he held the pistol.

Freddy had heard the two others about to pounce the Night Guard, more likely instinct than hatred. In haste the bear raised his arms and halted the two, much to their confusion. Which was lucky, since Foxy looked like he was ready to attack any who approached.

Freddy once again looked at the two across from him. "Now..." He asked with a much softer voice then before. "We need to discuss this, because unfortunately two of my friends do not see what we see; we need to change this."

Looking at Chica and Bonnie, Freddy spoke with such authority that it took both of their attention away from the Night Guard. "Now, the two of you; I need you to promise me something. The endoskeleton is not what he appears. Attacking him is prohibited; he is, after all, the Night Guard of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria."

**Looks like Freddy sees who exactly Mike is! At least two of the robots don't want to murder him...**

**I will see you next chapter!**


	10. A Plan of Action

**Heya, everyone! So, 3500 views, huh? You know, when I started this story a few days ago, I would not have thought this possible. Who would have?**

**Darkrider220: That might be a problem since I don't actually have Microsoft Word... I wrote all of this on Wordpad. XD I will try, though. I don't intend on my chapters being short.**

**Guest2: Don't worry about it! :) As I said, Fritz may actually make an appearance in this story or a later one.**

**Now, the big one. The double digit. I present to you... CHAPTER 10!**

Mike was stunned. After he had heard Freddy basically out-right state that he saw Mike's real identity gave him a sliver of something that had been gone from his life for a while now: Hope.

Freddy still blocked the way to an aggravated Bonnie and Chica. They would obey their leader for now, but Mike had no doubt that they would strike if he crossed the line. He needed to convince them that he was not an endoskeleton, otherwise the chance of him escaping alive would be shattered.

"Now, the two of you are going to listen to Foxy's side." Freddy stated, "You might not see it even then, but please stay still."

Foxy sighed, then started his story.

"It all started jus' thirty minutes ago. After I had been shot, ol' Foxy went into maintenance mode. While I be under, I kept seein' the last few moments before this lad here shot me. I awoke teh find the endo... not looking like an endo." Foxy shook his head, "I haven't any answers why."

Bonnie looked at Foxy through narrowed eyes, "How are you sure the endo hasn't just tricked you or something? Maybe it highjacked your system, because the fact that neither me nor Chica don't see it yet you do makes it possible, doesn't it?"

Mike was starting to get fed up of being called the 'endo'.

"I doubt it, lad. Freddy here also can see it and this guy were not anywhere near 'im." Foxy stated and Freddy silently agreed.

"Yes, but Freddy was shot too!" Chica huffed, "As he said himself, he could be malfunctioning! I really see no evidence that this endo-"

"Would you stop calling me that?" Mike yelled, much to his shock. _Why did I do that? Now they're gonna kill me for sure!_

Looking around the room, Mike saw the animatronics reaction to his foolish outburst. Foxy was frozen in shock as he prepared himself to defend the night guard. Freddy, on the other hand, simply put both hands on his face to mask his frustration.

Bonnie and Chica's reaction was surprisingly predictable: They gave looks of anger at Mike. He felt like he took a step on the line and is now regretting that sudden outburst as soon as it happened.

Despite the fear and self-hatred of his actions, Mike decided to continue. "I have a name, you know." He said in a much softer voice. He hoped that that would sooth the two animatronics back under Freddy's control.

Freddy unclasped his hands from his face and sighed. "And what might that be?" He asked. Mike could see that Freddy was attempting to reinforce this by getting Mike to give more information to the two still-leashed animatronics; it could persuade them enough to see reason.

"Mike." The night guard said, a slight tone of bitterness that he was giving life information to the four robots that had spent so long trying to kill him. "Mike Schmidt. As far as I have seen in my twenty-four years of life, I am a human. My mother and father divorced when I was four years old and I haven't seen my father since. I made a foolish choice in getting a job in a pizzeria to get some money coming in so that I wouldn't end up on the streets; then it turned out that this job would of most likely led to my death!"

He could feel a voice within telling himself to calm down, but he had grown resentful of the four animatronics for the amount of time they had plagued his life. "For seven nights I had to avoid four robots that wanted to brutally kill me with no other reason to other than 'They think you're an endoskeleton'! On the seventh night, I was that close to dying that I actually considered MURDERING someone!"

"Then that choice bit me on the ass several months later when I found out I had to do that again, but another THREE times. At that point I decided enough was enough, got a gun and went and shot the fox." He looked at Bonnie and Chica when he said the last sentence. "Is that enough information for you?"

Foxy and Freddy were both frozen yet again. He could tell that they were in shock about just how angry Mike was and likely felt in might NOT have been a good idea to have Mike talk. Bonnie was taken aback from the answer. Good. Let him.

Chica simply glared at him, though a slight bit of hesitation was in her voice. "Okay, Mike." She said with suspicion in her voice, "While it might be possible you may be telling the truth, you may just be stalling us until our reset time. So, forgive me, but I'm afraid I can't trust you yet."

Mike sighed, "Fine. How, then?"

Raising an eyebrow, Bonnie got back into the conversation. "What?"

"You heard me. How can I prove to you that I'm not an... 'endo'?"

Freddy shook his head. "You can't. You're lucky me and Foxy here can see that you are human." He gave a slight pause, an idea forming. "Unless..."

"What? Have ye got a plan?" Foxy asked hopefully.

Freddy continued by looking from Bonnie to Chica. "You are not going to like it..."

Chica looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well..." Freddy didn't seem to want to answer, but he did. "Maybe if you two happen to also get shot?"

The room exploded in a barrage of insults, disagreements and objects around the room. Freddy and Foxy tried to calm down the two, but were unsuccessful. Mike watched as the animatronics fought amongst themselves.

"How could you even THINK about that!?" Bonnie yelled, "That's a horrible plan!"

"Please," Freddy said, now with a bit of expired milkshake running down his head, "Let me explain the plan. It will be under a safe environment-"

"SAFE!?" Chica shouted, preparing to throw another milkshake bottle at the bear. "Safe isn't even a part of the equation! You just talked about SHOOTING us!"

"What else do ya think we should do, Chica, ye landlubber?" Foxy growled, "Ya not hurting Mike, so ye just gonna have to accept the plan!"

"I didn't say I was going to kill the en- I mean Mike!" Chica paused to glare at Foxy, "Also, what did you call me?"

"What if it goes wrong?" Bonnie asked. No longer angry, he now seemed downright terrified. "What if we don't wake up?"

"I promise you, it won't go wrong." Freddy said in a comforting tone, "Trust me."

Mike watched as Bonnie looked at the ground and Chica rubbed her face with her hands. Finally stopping, she came to an answer.

"Fine." She spoke in defeat. "I trust you."

Freddy smiled with joy. "Thank you."

"So, what is the plan?" Chica asked.

Foxy gestured to the door the three were standing behind. "First we go to the eating area. Then we'll convinced ya that Mike's a human."

In acceptance, the three left the room first. With Foxy in front, Mike followed with his gun in hand.

So, first he had the intentions to kill the animatronics or at least hurt them. Then he was in a stand-off with one of them DEFENDING him. Now he was going to show the two that did not see him for what he truly was that he was human by shooting them?

He needed some sleep…

**Have no idea if that was longer or just the same length. TT**

**Well, I guess I'll see you in chapter eleven. See yah next time!**


	11. The plan in effect

**Hello! Welcome to another chapter of The Shift Must Go On!**

**First of all, I would just like to apologize for the lack of updates over the past week. With school coming back after the holidays and a headache, I kinda lost focus. As for the weekend... I don't have an excuse. I was being lazy. Hopefully I can make it up for you guys this week!**

As Mike walked down the hallway he couldn't shake the eerie feeling that this was all just a trick to get him out in the open. It didn't help with the fact that the only light source was the approaching dawn and the animatronics eyes. He still held the gun in his hand, but he felt that in wouldn't be very effective at this point.

He quickly shook off this feeling when he realized that they could have easily attacked him in the office. The fact that both Foxy and Freddy stopped the other two from killing him meant that there was more behind this then Mike originally thought; maybe they were telling the truth and something had snapped them out of the mindset that they were in previously. The way how Foxy had reacted when he realised that the endoskeletons they had been stuffing the last twenty years were actually Night Guards, he did legitimately upset.

The dining room was pitch black. Decorations looked more eerie than they would normally under the darkness. The fact that tables were scattered around made it hard for them to initiate their plan; Freddy realized this as well, so he turned to the others.

"We should move the tables so they're at the sides." He said, "Give us more room."

Whilst they set to work Mike simply stood at the doorway leaning to the side of the frame. It was obviously close to the end of his shift so he knew they had to hurry. Checking his watch, he found the time being 5:45. Hopefully enough time.

Within five minutes, the dining room now had a huge space in the middle of it, giving them enough room to start. Mike would have enough room in case the two tried to attack him. Just as they were doing the finishing touches, Chica once again questioned the plan.

"I still don't trust this. I mean, what is the evidence that shows that any of this is possible?"

Freddy lifted a table and put it on top of another. "Chica." He said, "Why did we start doing all of this? Going after the guards and whatnot?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Why?"

"Because we got the idea... at the same time..." Chica paused when she realized what she had said.

Freddy gave a nod and a smile. "Exactly. We all told each other what we thought and agreed to start going after the night guards. Or as we thought, the endoskeletons."

Once they were done, Freddy gestured in Mike's direction. Preparing his gun, he walked over.

"Okay." Freddy sounded as if he was not looking forward to the next minutes. Mike couldn't blame him. "Now, who wants to go first?"

The two looked at each other.

"I can go first." Bonnie stated.

Chica put a wing upon his shoulder. "You sure?"

Bonnie nodded. "I trust Freddy; if he says that this will solve this problem, I agree with him.

"Okay. Come over here and get ready."

Freddy looked over at Mike and then the gun. "You're going to have to do the shooting. We can't exactly use guns."

Mike tried to answer but his throat was too dry. Instead he gave a slow nod. Either way, there was not much he could do if he was attacked. He felt too tired to be able to fight back.

While he stood with his back to the stage, Bonnie was a few meters in front of him. Chica stood off to the side, arms crossed. Holding the Pistol with both hands, he raised it and pointed it at the animatronics chest area.

Bonnie was nervously shivering. "Are... are you sure about this?"

Freddy nodded. "Don't worry. It takes a lot more than a bullet to stop us." He gave an encouraging smile.

Mike wished he had known that before he took a damn side-arm to work...

His finger rested on the trigger. Fortunately, his finger didn't shake. He didn't want to randomly fire. Chica already distrusted him enough; if she thought that he was actually trying to kill Bonnie, things could get worse.

"Okay." He said, preparing for the worst. "Three... Two... One."

He pulled the trigger.

What happened next came out of nowhere. Bonnie staggered and fell to the floor in a heap, much like Foxy had. The lights that illuminated his eyes shut off and he didn't move. As soon as the bullet had gone through, Chica went berserk.

His mind remembered her screeching and attacking him. She ran into him that hard that he had to jump to the side to avoid the worst of it; he didn't want to see what would happen if he was run over by a six-foot-five animatronic chicken.

Quickly getting up, Mike turned to see the action unfold.

The other two had intervened before she could do any more damage. Foxy tried to block her, trying to pull her back to control, but she grabbed him and practically slammed him through a table. Since he didn't get up, Chica turned on Freddy. The bear had instinctively moved to block her from getting to Mike.

"Chica?" The bear said in a wary tone. Looking at her, Mike immediately saw why: Her usual violet eyes had changed to the monstrous animatronic black eyes and she didn't answer Freddy. "Can you hear me?"

In some kind of twisted response, Chica charged at Freddy and knocked him down onto the ground. Spinning around, she looked at Mike with eyes that could be described with one word: Predatorial.

Looking around for the gun, Mike spotted it underneath a table. Leaping for it, he almost grasped it with his right hand before feeling something grab his leg and drag him away from it. Trying to get loose, Mike looked behind him to see Chica dragging him towards the backstage area. Kicking her had no effect as she continued her stride.

As he started to panic, Foxy jumped back into the fight by knocking Chica off her feet. He spun around and shouted "Get the gun!" before Chica hit him hard in the chest. Mike ran to the table, slid under it and grabbed the pistol before standing up.

He instinctively aimed towards Chica and fired.

Just as he did, he felt himself get pushed. His head cracked against the table and unconsciousness took over.

**Well, that's the end of that. Hopefully next chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	12. Memories

When he awoke, he was surprised to find himself sitting in a hospital bed. The curtains were drawn closed and the light in his room were off. A bandage was wrapped around his head, though it continued to throb. He looked towards a table that sat adjacent to the bed and saw his Night Shift Jumpsuit folded neatly on top.

As he lay there, he tried to remember what had happened before he fell unconscious. He could remember shooting Bonnie, before Chica suddenly attacked him without warning. Both Foxy and Freddy tried to stop her from practically crushing him before they themselves ended up strewn across the floor. Chica had tried to drag Mike into the Backstage room, likely to stuff him inside of one of the suits before Foxy and Freddy could stop her. The thought of that made Mike start to shake.

Someone on a white coat opened the door and walked in, though Mike hadn't noticed as he was still troubled by his thoughts. The doctor, who had been reading from a clipboard that he held with his right hand, looked up and was surprised to see the patient awake. He lowered the clipboard and smiled.

"Ah, I'm glad to see that you are awake." The doctor's voice instantly snapped Mike back to reality as he looked at the doctor with a surprised expression. The doctor had black hair with grey blending in at the sides. His clean-shaven jaw revealed a surprisingly young face, though the man had to be in his 40's. His eyes, which were a bright hazel colour, had a certain strength to them despite their friendliness. He sat down on a chair next to the table and examined Mike's forehead.

"You are Mike Schmidt, correct?"

In response, Mike nodded. "Last time I checked." He looked around the room. On the wall to the right of the bed was a painting of a sunset, the orange being a rather comforting colour. "How did I get here?"

The doctor placed the clipboard on the table. "You were found unconscious on the floor of what I am guessing is your work place; Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria?" Mike gave a quick nod. "The Police were given a phone call at five in the morning, stating that the sound of gunshots had been coming from the pizzeria. When Police arrived, they found you unconscious on the floor with bullet holes found within the pizzeria. The Police concluded that it was a break-in, though the culprits were stopped."

Mike bit his lip; did they find the pistol? If so, the gun would likely be linked back to Ben. The doctor continued: "Bullet holes were also found in the animatronics, strangely enough. The manager, Charles Garfield, said it was likely due to them being out and about during the break-in. You yourself were lucky not to receive any bullet wounds, only gaining that wound on your head." He looked at Mike curiously. "Do you remember how you got that wound?"

"I tripped over and hit my head on the stage." It wasn't a complete lie; he had still hit his head on the stage. "How long have I been out?"

"Just four hours." The doctor answered. "With that kind of head wound, I'd have thought you wouldn't have awoken until tomorrow morning." He gave Mike a concerned look. "How do you feel?"

Mike shrugged. "Hungry and thirsty, though better than I could have been."

The doctor nodded with a smile. "Good to hear." He stood up. "My name is Dr. Gray, just so you know. Solomon Gray. Someone else should be up here in ten minutes or so; after that, we'll see how you feel and if you are lucky, you should be able to leave within the hour."

Nodding, Mike smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." And Doctor Gray left, clipboard once again in hand.

**Three hours later**

Sighing as he unlocked the front door of his apartment, Mike worried about what evidence was still at the Pizzeria. The Police had left, finding no leads, though for all Mike knew Garfield knew about the gun and was intending to blackmail Mike with it, or worse.

Both the case and pistol were somewhere around the crime scene. The fact that neither of them were mentioned suggested that the animatronics might have hidden them. Mike sat down on his couch, putting his face onto his palms. This was not how Mike had wanted this to go, though he was at least still alive.

Memories started to flood his consciousness as he remembered how this had all started; when he had collected the newspaper from the door of his apartment that fateful day and brought it into his house. That had been one of the worst mistakes he'd made, likely within his whole lifetime; reading that page had been the second.

_Mike looked at the newspaper that lay on top of his table with tiredness; on the front page was a story of how within the last few years' people had been disappearing without a trace. Though there had seemed to be a connection with all the disappearances, no one had worked it out. _

_He sighed as he sat down. He didn't have a job and was having tough luck looking for one these days. There was an economic crisis happening and it wasn't even like crawling back to his parents was an option. He hadn't seen his father since he was four years old and his mother was suffering so badly from schizophrenia that she had been living in a mental institute for the last three years. Living with his parents wasn't a luxury Mike could have. _

_Opening the paper, he glanced at the headings until his eyes fell on one in particular._

_**HELP WANTED**_

_**Freddy Fazbear's Pizza**_

_**Family Pizzeria looking for security guard to work the night shift. 12am to 6am.**_

_**Monitor cameras, ensure safety of equipment and animatronic characters.**_

_**Not responsible for injury/dismemberment.**_

_Mike couldn't help but feel excited. Was this finally the opportunity that Mike had needed for the last month? It was like a bit of luck had been sprinkled over him when he needed it mos;. Although he was a bit sceptical over the last line..._

_He shook his head. It was probably just a joke. A little tease on the recent controversy where some workers up in New York had been faking injuries to sue the companies that they had been working for. He was not going to pass up the opportunity he needed so desperately._

_Looking back at the newspaper, he read the rest of it._

_**$120 a week.**_

_**To apply call,**_

_**1-888-FAZ-FAZBEAR**_

_$120 a week? Not exactly a fortune, but it'll be enough to survive on. Better than the $0 that he was making at that moment._

_Deciding to circle the ad with a red marker and save it for later, Mike left the building. He was going to visit his mother, though the odds that she would recognise him wasn't in his favour._

_Looking back at the clock, Mike was alerted by the fact that it was already half-past six. He needed to arrive at work early, so that if the gun and case hadn't been found he would be able to recover it before anyone else did._


	13. Confidence

**Past readers may notice that the ending is rather different now; while it goes in a more satisfying way, many elements from the original ending will be in place.**

**I present to you the penultimate chapter of The Shift Must Go On!**

Mike arrived outside the pizzeria at half-past eleven. As long as no one had found it yet, Mike knew he could quickly retrieve it before morning. Whether the animatronics had hidden it, Mike would find out as soon as midnight came around; if not, it would hopefully be somewhere in the dining hall. Maybe underneath the stage?

Like many times before, he was just on the front doorstep when he saw Garfield heading out. It was as if the guy was doing it deliberately, which honestly would have surprised Mike. Opening the door, he looked up and saw that his Night Guard was ready for duty. Was that surprise on his face, from the fact that Mike had gotten out of hospital so quickly?

"Mr. Schmidt." He spoke with his usual smug voice, though it had a layer of venom behind it; whether it was from the 'Break-in' that had happened, Mike himself or something completely related was something that Mike didn't know. "I'm glad to see you, especially after that problem you had last night; you did your job, though. Nothing was stolen, so I might have to give you a raise!"

When Mike himself 'raised' his eyebrow, Garfield laughed in a badly-masked mocking tone. "So, end of the second week, hey? Only two more to go and you can go on with your life! I am happy this is working out. After all, you haven't complained in the slightest yet." He held his chin with his hand in a thoughtful pose. "Maybe I SHOULD give you a raise."

Mike simply nodded, attempting to ignore the Manager's japes and get on with the night. "Anything you need to tell me?"

"Nope. Only thing of note was the break-in last night, which you are very aware of." He checked his watch on his right wrist, "Oh, my! Look at the time! I need to get back home!" He walked to his car, unlocked it then raised his arm up lazily.

"You, ah, enjoy your shift!" He yelled before entering his car, sat down and took a cigarette from the pack on the dashboard. Taking a lighter out from his suit pocket, he lit the cigarette before placing it on the opening of his mouth, breathed in and exhaled.

"I'm sure I will." Mike replied as the manager continued to smoke. Turning around with a scowl on his face, Mike entered the building. Shutting the doors, Mike inserted the key into the lock and turned it.

"Bastard." He mumbled. It was bad enough that he had to deal with killer animatronics every night, but the pompous nature of his boss was what made the job unbearable; though having a nicer boss likely wouldn't make it any better.

Besides, hopefully the animatronics would no longer need the 'killer' part of their name.

He sighed as he walked towards the stage, taking in the lighting before the Night Power would activate. None of the normal lights could be turned on during the night, likely because of the Stone Age generator that they used for the night shift not connecting to the wiring for the normal lights. At least he had the foresight to unplug the damn fan during his first week…

The tables had been put back into their usual position; at least the pistol wouldn't have been on the ground underneath a table. Biting his lip slightly, Mike got down on his hands and knees and pulled the banner hiding the supports for the stage up. Nothing was under there.

"Damn it, where the hell is it?" Mike cursed slightly. Whilst the stage was big enough to cover at least twenty feet or more, the gun wasn't exactly a needle in a haystack. It would be easily visible, even from a distance. Unless…

"Lad!" A voice cried from behind him, making Mike practically jump out of his skin. Spinning around, Mike was surprised to see Foxy standing at the edge of the Pirate's Cove stage with the curtains pulled back.

"Ye're here!" The fox had a large smile on his face, easily seen through his eyes. Unlike Bonnie, Chica and Freddy- who would have been repaired after the technicians had seen the bullet holes through the three, Foxy still had a circular hole in his chest. His leg, which seemed to be fine, must have not been damaged enough to cause problems.

Rubbing his head with his right hand as he lifted himself up from the ground with his left, Mike shrugged. "I wasn't hurt too badly, so I was able to leave just a few hours after I woke up."

Foxy nodded. "Glad to 'ear it! Me an' the rest o' the crew were worried about ya, especially Chica." Frowning, he looked down. "She be taking her attacking ye hard an' put that on top o' them findin' out we been killing the Night Guards…"

Mike straightened at that. "It worked? They won't see anyone else as endoskeletons?"

"Yeah, lad. Bonnie awoke soon after ye fell under an' Chica did minutes later." He had a sorrowful look. "Listen, lad… the others will want to give their own apologies, but Capn' Foxy would like to first- since they can't at the moment"

Suddenly, Mike had a thought that he was annoyed hadn't come to him before. "Hey, that's a question; how are you not in lockdown?"

Foxy shrugged. "Dunnoh, lad. Might be 'cause I be in the brig. When we were moved, I wasn't repaired. Lost me sea legs. The others might have gotten somethin' that ol' Foxy don't have."

"Anyway, on me oath as a capn', I would like to say that me an' the others are deeply sorry on what we did to ya in these past few months." His sorrowful look was back. "We can never take back what we did to ye, or those Night Guards we killed. Least we can do is make yer life mighty easier."

Taken back by the sincerity of the apology, Mike nodded. "While I'm not one-hundred percent able to trust you, I… accept your apology." Then he smiled slightly. "I myself apologise for the things I said to you on Monday and any other insults that came out throughout the week." He bit his lip. "That 'Break a leg' comment didn't help, either."

Foxy chuckled. "Don't worry 'bout it, lad. Ye were under a lot o' stress, so naturally ye would be a little… headstrong."

Another thought came to Mike. "Hey, if you are able to move around before the others, then why didn't you attack me when I was insulting you? Even more, why haven't you attacked anyone during the day? You would have also seen them as endoskeletons, surely?"

Shaking his head, Foxy warily said: "Tis was only during night tha' we saw people as endos. Dunnoh why, though neither does ol' Foxy know why we saw our lookouts as that. As for why I never attacked, Ol' Foxy can't leave me cove until midnight. Might be me programming from back in the day."

That took Mike back. "So, if you didn't have that programming…"

"Then I would have attack ya before ye could've hid in yer box." Foxy shook his head. "Let's move on. Ye be looking for yer gun?"

Mike nodded. "Did you hide it?"

"Aye, lad." Foxy moved back into the cove, before coming back after a few seconds with the case that Mike had used to hold the gun within. Mike moved towards him and Foxy passed him the case.

"Gun's inside. Ye can count on that."

Nodding, Mike looked at it for a second. This could be a mistake, but… "Actually, could you keep it until morning? Wherever you hid it would have worked better than anywhere I would have thought of."

The surprise in Foxy's eyes showed his gratefulness in the trust Mike had in him. "Aye, lad. Ol' Foxy will remind ye before ya leave at six." He moved back to place it where he had originally.

When he returned, Foxy seemed to have cheered up slightly. "Now, just a warning for ya: The repairs to the rest o' me crew were good n' all, but their voice boxes be a little… on the blue side."

Mike nodded. "Got it. I'll head to the office and wait; security cameras don't have any recording software, but I don't want to give Garfield any suspicion that I have been 'straying' from my nightly duties."

A look of confusion spread across Foxy's mechanical features as he tilted his head slightly to the left. "Garfield…that be the Bosun?"

In return, Mike shrugged. "Call him what you want. I call him the douchebag, but whatever floats your boat."

Foxy gave him an incredulous look. "Wind an' sails floats me boat, lad. Garfield may be the bosun, but I be the Captain." He did look thoughtful, however. "The 'Douchebag' does sound like a good name for the bilgerat, though."

Mike chuckled at that. "True. Anyway, I need to go. See you in…" He looked at his watch. "…ten minutes."

"Sure thing, lad."

Mike walked back to the office. In just ten minutes, the future of his career at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria would be determined; it will either be pretty good or it will suck.

For the first time in a while, Mike felt confident.


	14. Epilogue: A Clean Slate

**Guest: That would have probably been the best excuse if they hadn't moved it.**

**Rincchi Okumura: I second that.**

**ImaginationOverdrive: I have to admit, I had a lot of fun writing that chapter.**

**Now I present to you the final chapter of The Shift Must Go On!**

The office seemed smaller than it used to; whether it was due to the amount of time Mike had spent within the dining room or simply because of his imagination was something that likely wouldn't be answered. If he was lucky, he wouldn't need to spend as much time in the boxed area than he used to.

As he sat down on his chair, Mike thought about every single event that had led him up to this point. The amount of pain he'd gone through had reduced him to an emotional wreck in the first month after his first week at Freddy's, though he couldn't blame it all on the pizzeria. Even still, he could still remember his job interview.

* * *

_A bright light hung over the desk that sat in front of Mike. The seat he was using was a wooden computer chair, without anything to soften it; Mike didn't mind. As long as he had a paying job, he would sit on that chair for his entire shift._

_On the other side of the desk sat what would hopefully be his future boss: Charles Garfield was his name. The manager, who wore a grey three-piece suit, looked at him for a few seconds with some kind of curiosity before speaking._

_"So, Mr. Schmidt, is it?" He asked, having an unusually high voice for someone who looked in their mid-thirties. Underneath his suit was a surprisingly skinny figure, but the most prominent feature that he had was his eyes. They were blue in colour, though when Mike had greeted him in the dark hallway he could have sworn they appeared as a violet colour. _

_"Yes, sir." Mike answered. Back then, he had been respectful. Whether it was his values or his naivety that caused that, he lost both when he found out just how corrupt his higher-ups could be._

_"A strange name for an American, I have to admit."_

_"Well, my mother had a German heritage, you see. My dad was American though he lived in Germany at the start of his life, so they named me Mike instead of a German name."_

_"So your last name is your mother's maiden name?"_

_"Yes. They divorced when I was younger. I lived with my mother after that."_

_Garfield nodded. "So... do you want the job?"_

_Mike was confused about the question. "Sure! I mean, that's why I came here, isn't it?"_

_"Well, you get the job, then."_

_Amazement burst into Mike. "Really?!"_

_"There haven't been any others wanting it, so I guess you're the only option."_

_Mike shook his hand. "Thank you!"_

_Garfield smiled. "Here, I will give you your clothes for the night shift. Follow me."_

* * *

His thoughts were interrupted when the night power was switched on, darkening the entire pizzeria. Midnight had finally arrived and the animatronics would have been activated. Breathing in and out slowly, Mike thought about what decision he would make. He had the option to close the doors before any of the animatronics arrived, but that could damage any sort of trust they had gained over the last day.

Sighing, he decided that if he WAS wrong about this, it wouldn't make much of a difference. His life wasn't exactly going anywhere, after all. Standing up, he prepared himself at the left door, held the frame for support…

…and swiftly walked out into the dark hallway. He continued down to the dining area, where the animatronics would have gone. Hopefully they were waiting for him to arrive so that they could start their new relationship off with a good start and not… well…the other thing.

Before he had entered the dining room, he spotted the three animatronics on the stage. Chica, holding her cupcake, was just walking down the steps whilst Bonnie was preparing to. Freddy had already left the stage and was standing in the middle of the dining area. He immediately saw Mike at the entrance of the hallway. Mike was afraid he'd made a huge mistake until the look of surprise was evident on Freddy's face.

"Mr. Schmidt." He spoke with a voice that Mike associated with a gentleman; the top hat only enhanced this image. Freddy's words alerted the other two, who also looked at Mike with surprise.

Meekly, Mike stood a little too straight for it to be counted as relaxed. "Um…hey." At least his voice didn't choke.

All of their faces were shadowed with guilt. Freddy nodded towards Mike. "Are you comfortable with us being here or should we keep our distance?"

Mike bit his lip slightly; this would determine whether his trust in them could be strong enough for any friendship to last. Was he truly willing to let his fear and resentment for the four animatronics go? Or was he deluding himself into believing that he was ready to let bygones be bygones? Finally, he had his answer.

"I'll be alright. I think I can trust you."

His answer definitely had a positive effect, judging from the animatronics' expressions. Bonnie's reaction went from a fearful guilt to joyful, whilst Chica's own went to grateful. Foxy pulled the curtain of Pirate's Cove back and stepped out, a grin in his eyes. Freddy himself smiled.

"I am glad to hear it." Those words relaxed Mike a little. They wouldn't exactly be pleasant with him if they were just going to kill him. He moved a bit closer into the dining hall.

"Listen, me and Foxy were talking just before midnight about some things…" He started, seeing the acknowledgement in Foxy's face. "…and I would just like to apologise for what I have been saying over the past week."

Chica shook her head. "Don't be. After all of what we tried to do..." She looked down at the ground, her guilt back. "You had every right to not trust us. The fact that you are here now…"

There was a long stage of silence. "Look...I know a lot has happened over the past few months between us..." Mike said loud enough for the four to hear. They needed to know that he was willing to accept a clean slate. "...But I want us to forget that."

All their heads shot up. "What?!" They all yelled, shock evident in all of their voices.

"I know, I know... it's a lot to ask for, but we have two whole weeks of me being the Night Guard here and I don't want to spend it sitting scared in a room and you regretting what you tried to do to me!" A pause. "It's possible, after all." He continued softly. He already knew that they needed this, but he secretly did too.

Freddy shook his head. "No, no, it's not that... we're just surprised you're ready to let it go so quickly!" He looked at Mike right in the eyes, "Are you sure?"

Mike's smile came as soon as Freddy said that. "I'm sure."

"Then we lad, in return, will make the next two weeks the best damn weeks in yer life, or me name isn't Capn' Foxy!" Foxy declared with triumph."

"Well, technically your name isn't officially 'Capn' Foxy'." Freddy pointed out matter-of-factly.

Foxy gave Freddy an angry look. "Quiet, Fazbear, or ye be walkin' the plank!" Causing everyone, both man and animatronic, to laugh.

* * *

The next few hours were refreshing, considering the amount of trouble that had been caused the night prior. Now with no need to hide in the office, Mike explored the pizzeria alongside the animatronics. After getting to know each of them, Mike was surprised by just how much personality they each had.

He found out that, surprisingly similar to her overall character image, Chica had a fascination for cooking. Though she couldn't cook herself, she had quite a lot of knowledge based around cooking including how to handle the machinery within the kitchen. Whether it was built within her AI or she'd learnt it from the cooks was something that she was unsure of.

Something that made Mike feel guilty was finding out that Bonnie's self-esteem was rather low. The one thing he did take pride in was his skill with a guitar; Mike had found out that he actually played it rather than the sound being simulated. He also had an interest for stories, especially those from books and TV. Whilst Mike himself didn't own a Television, he said that if he did get one he would bring it in. That definitely raised Bonnie's spirits.

Mike could easily tell that Freddy enjoyed things that challenged his intelligence; he had a love for math according to Foxy and anything that made Freddy have to think was something that he wanted. Chess was something that he'd mentioned that he wanted to try, so just like Bonnie Mike had promised that if a chess set was available he would see about giving it to the animatronic bear. He seemed to have appreciated that.

Foxy, as Mike expected, absolutely loved anything to do with Pirates. Within the cove were several pirate props and he would go on and on with tales of his 'adventures' out at sea. Mike didn't mind at all; he found himself enjoying Foxy's stories, even with the fantastical elements that dotted them. From what Mike had learned from the others, he never normally acted as energetic as he had been. It seemed that Mike being there had reinvigorated a part of Foxy that wanted one thing: To entertain. Mike was happy to oblige him.

Unfortunately, time went by quickly. As it was expected to arrive, Mike was interrupted by the jingle that the clock played once six am came around, signifying the end of his shift.

"Jeez, I need to go!" Foxy tossed him the case, as he rushed to the exit. Just before he walked away after locking the door, he looked back to see the animatronics waving at him.

Smiling, Mike waved back. In just two nights, his death sentence had changed. Now the things that had spent two separate weeks trying to kill him were not only his co-workers, but his friends. That was unexpected, as were a lot of things that had happened in such a small space of time..

Mike grinned. His job, now a lot easier, had also grown a lot weirder. But it didn't matter. Either way, he knew one thing:

The shift must go on.

And he was going to make the most of it.

* * *

_Mike stood looking at the large pizzeria. He couldn't help but smile. It was his first day on the job, after all!_

_Walking to the front doors, he unlocked them and stood inside. He had to admit… the lack of light WAS a bit creepy._

_Shrugging it off Mike went down the hallway to his office. Sitting down on his chair, he started getting ready for his now-starting shift._

_That was when the phone rang._

* * *

A figure watched Mike as he waved to the animatronics. Unbeknown to Mike, this same figure had been watching the five since the very beginning of Mike's shift.

Also unbeknown to Mike, this figure had been a great reason why he was still alive, having preventing the animatronics from killing him throughout his career at Freddy's.

The figure smiled as Mike drove away. It wasn't a menacing smile, or even an angry smile: The figure was generally happy.

"Well, that went better than before." He chirped before turning to the forest next to the Pizzeria and walked in.

Within a minute, the place was like he'd never been there.

**Well, there we are! The end of the story. Now, I got four things to say.**

**First thing, the original ending. As some people might have noticed, the ending was significantly different here. This was due to me simply not liking how it originally ended, with this ending being a better close, in my opinion. **

**Second thing, the figure. This character is going to be a large part on this series and may even get a spin-off series of his own!**

**Third thing is that I have already thought of what the next story is going to be. Now, this is probably going to piss you all off... but it's a prequel.**

**WAIT! Don't leave! I have a reason for this! Every part of the series I do will also have a prequel after it. (Pretty much: Sequel, Prequel, Sequel, Prequel.) This is to give more backstory surrounding the already progressing one so things are a bit easier to understand.**

**Last thing, I just want to say thank you. This is the first story I have written that actually got a lot of attention, which is all thanks to anyone who gave it a try. I'm going to get the next instalment out as quickly as possible.**

**Bye for now! ;)**

_It is Gerald Franklin's last week until retirement. As the supervisor of the guards in Freddy's, his departure will be a significant loss. Only problem is, there isn't a Night Guard available. Gerald's last week at Freddy's might prove to be his last week for something else: His life._


End file.
